How do I use the ORTHO EVRA birth control patch?
ORTHO EVRA uses a 28-day, or four-week cycle. You should apply a new patch on the same day of the week for three consecutive weeks, for a total of 21 days. You should not apply a patch during the fourth week. Your menstrual period should start during this “patch-free” week. Every new patch should be applied on the same day of each week. This day will be your “Patch Change Day.” For example, if you apply your first patch on a Monday, all of your patches should be applied on a Monday. You should wear only one birth control patch at a time.
Sunday Start: Apply your first patch on the first Sunday after your menstrual period starts. If your menstrual period starts on a Sunday, you should start the patch that same day. You must use non-hormonal back-up contraception, such as a condom, spermicide or diaphragm for the first week of your first cycle. (Sunday will be the “Patch Change Day").
Wear the patch continuously for seven days (one week). On Day 8 the “Patch Change Day,” e.g. this would be Sunday for a Sunday Start patient), remove the used birth control patch, discard it and apply a new one immediately to one of the four areas described above.
Apply a new patch for week two (on Day 8 and week three (on Day 15), on your “Patch Change Day.” To avoid irritation, do not apply the new patch to the same exact place on your skin. Do not wear a patch on week four (Day 22 through Day 28). Your period should start during this week.
Begin your next four week cycle by applying a new patch on your normal “Patch Change Day,” the day after Day 28—no matter when your period begins or ends.
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